COMMON MARINE FISHES 9 



species. When a date follows the name, it indicates the year in which he 

 published the original description. 



The naming of animals is subject to certain rules laid down by the 

 International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. With scientists 

 working throughout the world, some confusion and duplication is inevi- 

 table. The rules provide how a name from the family level down is to 

 be formed and a means of settling any disputes which may arise. 



Names must be rendered in Latin or in latinized form. The generic 

 name of the black perch, Emhiotoca, for instance, is derived from two 

 Greek words meaning "in life" or "living" and "a bringing forth" or 

 ' ' offspring, ' ' most appropriate for this fish which bears its young alive. 

 This is characteristic of all the salt-w^ater perches and is reflected in the 

 family name, Embiotocidae. The specific name of the black perch, jack- 

 fioni, was given in honor of Mr. A. C. Jackson who was one of the first 

 to call attention to this feature of its life history. The rather formidable 

 generic name of the Pacific salmons, Oncorhynchns, means simply "hook 

 snout," while the various specific names are derived from the Russian 

 vernacular. These names are especially apt. They were chosen for that 

 reason as forcible examples of the fact that scientific names do mean 

 something when translated. Such appropriate names are the exception 

 rather than the rule, though there is usually something about the animal 

 which suggests the name — if it is not, as often happens, named in some- 

 one's honor or for the place in which it is found. We hope that this dis- 

 cussion will clarif}^ both the reasons for and the meaning of scientific 

 names. 



